Mirror Shards: Interludes
by MavenAlysse
Summary: Random stories set in no particular order in the 'Mirror Shards' 'verse.
1. Cat Nap

Mirror Shards: Interludes

Snippets for the Mirror Shards series.  
by: MavenAlysse

Rating: FR15 (to be on the safe side)

Disclaimers: B:tVS belongs to Whedon, Lewis Carroll (aka Charles Dodgson) created the awe- (and story-) inspiring Alice in Wonderland, and American McGee is responsible for the nightmares, er.. I mean, the versions of Alice and Cheshire Cat I ended up using from the game 'American McGee's Alice.' Nothing is mine, though I can dream, right?

Summary: Bits and pieces of things that happen here and there within the 'Mirror Shards' universe.

Author's Notes: It took awhile, but the writer's block finally let up a little. Hope you all like.

Timeline: Any time after Halloween, but no real order.

Interlude 1: "Cat Napping"

Willow entered the Library, a slight frown upon her face. Spotting Dawn at one of the tables she walked over, dropping her backpack with a light 'thump'. "Dawn, have you seen Xander? He was supposed to meet me by the tree so we could study."

The younger girl looked up from her book, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "He was here during Study Hall. I think he was going to cat nap. You should check the sunny spots."

With a bemused look on her face, Willow stepped up between the stacks. "Here I am, taking study time to chase sun beams." She checked the angle of the sun streaming through the windows and headed in the most likely direction. Which of course meant he wasn't to be found. She headed in the other direction. Still nothing. A third direction yielded similar results. Exasperated, she slapped the side of a bookshelf. "Xander!"

From above her she heard a yelp, causing her to flatten herself against the farthest wall. A body fell from the top of the shelves. It twisted in midair to land neatly in a crouch beside her. Xander rose to his full height, gazing at her reproachfully. "You bellowed?"

Scowling, she slapped his arm, "Meanie. You scared me."

"Scared you? You didn't just jolt up from a sound sleep and fall nearly ten feet." He rubbed his arm in mock pain.

"Sorry." She glanced up, a faint frown upon her face. "What were you doing up there, anyway?"

"It's under a sky light." He took her arm and walked her back toward the tables. "Sorry I lost track of time. We still on for our study session?"

Willow nodded, "You betcha, mister. You are going to pass this History test if I gotta pour the information into your head myself!"

A gleam shone in his eye and a grin blossomed. "Wouldn't that be great? No more having to listen to boring lectures. Just tip your head and let the knowledge flow in." He tilted his head, blinking in thought. "Of course, then you'd have to put corks or something in your ears to keep it from pouring out before it was all absorbed. People would look pretty silly like that, don't you think?"

Willow sighed, a small smile upon her lips, having gotten used to the odd segues Xander was prone to since his parents had been killed. "Yup. Pretty silly. Where would you like to go study? Here? Giles'? The park?"

"Here's good. We can help keep Dawn company 'til her mom gets home. Buffy went shopping. With Cordelia."

Willow shuddered. "With Cordelia? Why ever for?"

"She's not so bad, once you get past all the layers."

"So, she's like an onion?" she teased.

"Let's just say that everyone wears masks and what you see isn't always what's really there."

Willow nodded, though her brow creased again as yet another change expressed itself, Xander didn't used to be so blunt or insightful – well, yes, actually, he did, but it felt different nowadays. "Xander, are you okay?" She held a hand to stop his initial reply. "I mean, really okay? You've been acting odd, well, more oddly than normal. I know that a lot has happened over the last few months. I..." she stammered, wishing she had the words to make everything alright again for her best friend. "I just ... you know that you can tell me anything, right?"

He nodded, not a hint of hilarity about himself as he took her hand in his. "I know, Wills. I know." They stared deeply into one another's eyes for a few moments, then he gave a quick grin and spun her in a circle. "Study?"

She sighed, smiling. "Study."

* * * 651 words 1/14/10 MavnAlysse * * *


	2. Toss

Interlude 2: 'Toss'

A black top hat lay upside down in the grass; several playing cards lay inside. Another fluttered to land upon its fellows.

Joyce Summers stood in the doorway of the back door watching her youngest daughter.

Beginning from a few feet away and slowly increasing the distance, Dawn currently stood behind a tree in the backyard and flicked cards out into the air. The card would dance and flutter in the wind, spinning around the tree and across the lawn, until it landed within the hat. Within moments, Dawn finished the pack.

Not a single card littered the grass.

* * * 99 words 3/23/10 MavnAlysse * * *


	3. Fun and Games I

Interlude 3: 'Fun and Games I'

Xander strolled down one of the many beaten down trails within the cemetery. The high grass was a pain to maneuver through and too easy for vampires and other demons to hide themselves in. It'd be another week before the Sunnydale Mortuary Gardening Service would make it to this particular portion of Haven Cemetery.

Buffy was stalking in his general direction, so he hopped onto a tombstone to wait for her. "Hello, pretty lady."

The tense look on her face eased a bit, but worry and frustration still dwelled in her eyes. "Hey, Xan."

"Problems?"

"Found half a dozen vamps looting one of the older mausoleums. Dusted five, but one got past me. Figures he's the one who had the what-ever from the tomb. Seen him?"

Xander shook his head. "Nope. No vamps ran in my direction."

"This grass is a nightmare. I'd burn it if it wouldn't cause more problems than it would solve."

He nudged her shoulder in good nature. "Pyro."

A brief smile flitted across her face, "Fire pretty."

"True. True." An idea hit him and he grinned. "Hold up. I got an idea. This'll help."

"What?"

He put a finger to his lips, motioning for silence. Hopping off the tombstone he indicated for her to follow him as he stepped away from the grave. The grin brightened and he took a deep breath and hollered, "MARCO!"

Buffy stared at him, wide-eyed. Her expression became even more comical as off to the left came a response. "POLO!"

A dark haired, scrawny looking male vampire peered incredulously over the edge of a nearby tombstone, obviously shocked that it had given its position away. It spotted Buffy. "Crap!" Scrambling to its feet, the vamp ran off, clutching something to its chest.

A feral smile crossed Buffy's face, "Thanks, Xan!" she tossed over her shoulder as she took off after it.

"Welcome." Xander waved, then pulled a stake from his pocket and headed down the path in the opposite direction to continue his part of the patrol "Marco!"

A faint, "Polo!" made him grin as he ran off to pounce.

* * * 368 words MavnAlysse 3/23/10 -A/N: this idea actually began as the "Toons just can't help themselves..." "shave and a hair cut..." "...two bits." situation from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? But then, I just liked the idea of Xander yelling "Marco!" and the vamps unable to keep from yelling "Polo!"- * * *


	4. Fun and Games II

Interlude 4: 'Fun and Games II'

Another night. Another patrol. Another group of pesky vamps that refused to play nicely by being easily found and staked – like all good evil demons should be.

Buffy was nearly growling in her frustration. They were standing in the center of an empty warehouse, having tracked a band of vampires through two cemeteries, across town, and into the warehouse district where for the past three hours they had only caught enough glimpses of their prey to continue the case. "Okay. This is officially old. I'm tired of these games." Hands on hips, she stared balefully around the room. "Where the hell are they?"

Brushing copper hair away from her eyes, Willow nodded in weary agreement. "It's like we're playing Hide and Seek. I never was very good at that game."

Xander nudged her, "Remember how you caught Cordelia that time at her twelfth birthday party?"

A smile lit the young witch's face, "Boy, was she mad."

An irritated sigh interrupted them and they both glanced over at their friend a bit guiltily. "The trip down memory lane is great and all, but I'd like to be in bed before the sun rises, you know? Any ideas on finding these jokers?"

"If you're not enjoying the game," Xander's eyes gleamed and a grin spread across his face, "then, perhaps we should end it."

The two girls looked at him askance, but before they could question him, he bellowed, "Ollie, Ollie, oxen-free!"

Within seconds the sound of footfalls echoed through the warehouse and a few rats squeaked in quiet panic as the vampires entered the room. Some through the bombay doors, some up from the sewer entrance, some even scrambled in through the windows. The vampires advanced slowly, cocky smiles upon their faces at the three mortals who stood shoulder to shoulder in the center of the room.

Buffy coolly shot one with her mini-crossbow, dusting it instantly. Hanging it back upon her belt, she pulled a stake out from her sleeve and appraised them.

The vampires froze, murmurs of disbelief softly spoken. She could hear: "Can they do that?" and"I thought the rules said..."

One especially nerdy-looking vampire stepped forward, it's voice an irritating whine. "Hey. No fair. You invoked safe passage."

Xander gently nudged Willow and the red head blinked, and sent a pitying look at the vamp. "Nope. Sorry. You're thinking 'All in. All in. All in free.' That's safe passage." With a flung gesture, a fireball engulfed the gaping vampire, reducing it to ash.

Xander laughed at the looks upon the other vampire's faces, a feral grin upon his lips, "All the phrase we used means is..." he pulled his battle ax from its back sheath and spun it once, the blade catching the light and splintering it, "Game over."

* * * 477 words MavenAlysse 4/2/2010 A/N: Yet another game ... anyone have any other ideas? * * *


	5. Glory

Interlude 5: "Glory"  
(A/N: Just as a reminder: these interludes aren't in any particular order – I'm writing them as they come to me. ::Grin:: Enjoy.)

Clouds chased each other over the sky. The moon smiled to itself as it played hide and seek among them. The fall air was crisp and cool and sent small breezes to stir the leaves making them dance for a moment before gently settling upon the ground. Children dashed up porch steps and knocked on doors, their cheerful voices sometimes at odds with their fearsome modes of dress.

Glorificus, the Glorious One, She Who Must Not Be Named, the Beast, was annoyed.

It had taken her months to locate the silly little monks who had her Key. They had been clever, but even monks needed to eat, and she'd managed to gain the information of their whereabouts from a local farmer. His thoughts had been pretty tasty, too. Very earthy.

The monks had somehow been alerted to her arrival and she'd arrived at their temple only to find all of the monks dead – having committed suicide to keep her from sucking the knowledge and sanity right out of them – and her Key missing. No clues as to where they'd sent it had been found. They'd been very thorough. It was irritating.

Ben tried to cause her some trouble, but now that she had escaped her little 'prison' she had no intention of letting the little twerp suppress her again. A steady diet of brain energies kept her going strong. A bit of thought, a bit of meditating, and letting her instincts out to play had brought her to the United States via New York and for the past few days she'd been steadily traveling southeast. She was a hell-goddess, the strongest being of her dimension, and although severely weakened and drained while chained to her host, a portion of her that housed her powers recognized her Key and although faint, she planned to follow that slight tugging all the way home.

Now, she and Doc were in some small, sickeningly-cheerfully-named town, during some type of fall festival. It was dark, the sun having set a few hours ago. As small people walked beneath the street lamps, she sneered at the outfits; completely unfashionable. And was that dress homemade? She shuddered.

Suddenly, the normally graceful hell-goddess stumbled, twisting an ankle in her four inch high stiletto Pradas. Catching herself on a nearby tree, she trembled, a ball of dread forming in her stomach. Cold sweat broke out all over, making her skin cold and clammy. She swallowed heavily against the nausea that threatened to make her previous meal known once again.

"Is something wrong, O Beauteous One?"

She could hear the trepidation in Doc's voice, and normally would have sneered in disgust, but she was a bit busy. "Something..." she half-whispered, half-muttered to herself, "something... something..." Eyes closed, forehead pressed against the trunk of the tree, letting the roughness of the bark against her skin focus her. "Something happened. Something's different. Something's changed." She fell into her mind, hands clenched tightly around a tree limb to keep from sinking to the ground.

Ignoring her human host, she plunged into herself – her godhood. Searching ... searching ...

Blue eyes opened, pupils dilated in shock and ... possible fear. "They ... they've ruined it. How...? It – it's ruined."

"My Lady?" a strong hand grasped her elbow, steadying her. She grabbed hold of it, too stunned and confused to be outraged by the audacity.

"My Key. My beautiful Key. The connection is gone. It's been changed. Somehow, they changed it." She looked wildly at her minion. "Even if I find it I can't use it now! What did they do?" This last came out as a wail startling nearby trick-or-treaters.

"We can search for it, O Wondrous One. Find a witch and have them scry for it."

Glorificus pulled away and glared at the pale, dark eyed demon with disgust. "Fool. The Monks made it untraceable. And with the way it has been changed, even if it were no longer protected against scrying, I have no 'scent' to give to a witch, or I would do it myself." Mind working furiously she absently straightened her hair and smoothed a hand over the skirt of her dress. She inhaled sharply and nodded to herself. Turning on her heel, she began walking down the street.

"What shall we do now, O Splendid One?"

"One avenue has been closed. We must search out another. I will go home, one way or another. And when I do, there will be hell to pay to those who exiled me." She beckoned with a well-manicured hand. "Come. I'm feeling a bit peckish. Once I've fed we shall see if the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart are worthy of my consideration."

"Yes, your Worshipfulness."

And the two disappeared into the night.

* * * 809 words MavenAlysse 4/21/2010 A/N: You know, it occurred to me that a major life-altering spell like the one Ethan did had to have some type of consequence to any magical artifacts it affected. (i.e. the vorpal blade, throwing cards, demon dice, and pocket watch were all magical artifacts that ended up remaining once the spell ended.) To me that means that merging Wonderland Magic (Alice) into Dawn would make for a slightly transformed trans-dimensional Key. The Monks already started that by turning the energy into a human girl, so mutating it further didn't sound all that unreasonable. Thus making her unsuitable for Glory's plans.

And with this snippet, the time-line works out that Dawn actually would have "come into being" as Dawn at the beginning of my Mirror Shards story with her asking for Xander's help in taking her trick-or-treating. Go me. ::grin:: * * *


	6. Special Blend Tea Party

Interlude 6: 'Special Blend Tea Party'  
Warning. This one is a bit dark.

Drusilla sat elegantly in her chair, her burgundy velvet dress smoothed primly over her knees, legs crossed lady-like at the ankle, delicately holding a fine china teacup while daintily sipping at the tea.

"We're nearly out of the first blend. Would you like to try a different one? It's fresh."

"Yes, please, my Kitten." she gently placed the first cup onto the table and graciously accepted a second, smiling up at her tea companions.

Xander lifted the teapot and filled her cup, the liquid a deep mahogany color. "Tell me what you think." He filled his own and a third as well.

Drusilla took a sip and moaned in delight as the sweet taste of cinnamon and blood flowed over her tongue. "This is delicious."

"Glad you like it." Dawn smiled gently at the Master Vampire. She finished her cup of tea and went to pour more. "Oh, Xander, this pot's nearly empty. Shall I prepare some more?"

"Please do." Xander fondly watched the young girl go, drawing out her vorpal blade as she headed for one of the back rooms.

Drusilla leaned back in her chair, gazing lovingly at the elaborately decorated table that Xander and Dawn had prepared for the three of them. They'd been having a grand time for several days now; Drusilla couldn't remember the last time she'd been this content.

"The first tea had a lovely vanilla flavor and this new one is a delectable cinnamon. It's hard to decide which I like the most. The magic in the blood gives it that lovely kick, but the mellow flavor from an older person is also quite nice."

"Joyce didn't last as long as we'd hoped, but we should be able to enjoy the Willow tea for much longer before having to try a new blend," a red-tinged grin spread across Xander's face.

Dawn returned with a freshly filled pot, a matching grin upon her own face.

Drusilla threw back her head and laughed.

* * *

A contented smile crossed the insane vampire's face as she slept – dreaming of a wonderful new day.

* * * 358 words MavnAlysse 3/23/10 -A/N: Well, even vampires can dream, right?- * * *


	7. Fun and Games III

Interlude 7: Fun and Games III

It was late, nearly one in the morning, as Xander hummed quietly to himself as he hopped down the stairs to fix himself a snack. Lights on in the dining room had him blinking, "Hey, Giles. Couldn't sleep?"

The older man glanced up distractedly from the large tome he was perusing. "Humn? Oh, well, actually, I was woken. Seems Drusilla is still in the area and is ... trying to help."

Perching on a kitchen chair Xander tilted his head, a tad confused. "Do tell."

"One of her minions brought a letter," he handed it to Xander to read. "She had a vision of a ritual being performed. Three sets of 'connected' beings 'by the non-existent light of the moon' that if successful will start a chain of events that will lead to the destruction of Earth."

Blinking, Xander slumped a bit in his chair. "Find out anything, yet?"

The Watcher sighed, "Possibly. There's at least four different rituals that specify the use of three separate races, but I can't seem to narrow it down any further."

"Which one has to be done on the new moon?" At the blank look, Xander elaborated. "You know, the non-existent light of the moon? Even in an eclipse you have enough to see it, but not new moons."

"Of course. I must be more tired than I thought." Running a hand over his eyes he leaned forward and re-read the entries. "This one. Requires six males and six females – four demons, four vampires, and four humans."

"Don't suppose she mentioned where it would be held?" Xander smiled ruefully at the head shake. "I hope we can figure out something. The new moon is tomorrow night and the girls won't be back until Sunday."

Giles looked puzzled, "I know that Buffy and Dawn were spending the weekend with their father. But where did Willow go?"

"Went with Oz to see him perform in the Battle of Bands in L.A."

Giles nodded, "We'll just have to ensure there's something for them to come back to, won't we?"

They researched late into the morning. Xander even made a trip to Willy's to see if the bartender had any information. "Sorry, G-man. No joy in Mudville."

The day passed and the two were no closer to figuring it out. They'd both exhausted their limited contacts – not even a generalized scrying spell could come up with any ideas.

Xander slumped at the kitchen table and noticed something. "You've got ants, Giles."

He shook his head. "They were in the envelope along with the message from Drusilla. I thought I'd cleaned them all up."

Xander sat up. "Drusilla put them in the envelope?"

The odd tone had Giles glance sharply up at his charge. "Yes. Why?"

"Dru wouldn't have done that unless..." Xander hopped to his feet. "Grab your gear. I know where they are."

* * *

The sign was faded and cracked, but you could still see the image of an ant on it's back above the words 'Moore and Son Exterminators'. Giles held in his annoyance at himself. He'd missed a vital piece of information because he had dismissed the ants as a prank from the delusional seer.

A side door was open and the two hunters crept silently into the abandoned warehouse. No one was in the office area – for which they were grateful – but they spotted no guards either, which made them suspicious and they took even greater care to make no noise. From somewhere ahead of them they could hear chanting. Cautiously, the two rounded the corner and the interior of the warehouse became visible.

Xander mentally admired the circle's construction: the painted lines and casters' positions reminded him of a giant clock. Four large demons, which Giles identified as Abrevins, sat at the four cardinal points: north, east, south and west, or 12, 3, 6, and 9. Beside each demon a vampire sat at its left and a human at its right; giving the vampires the 1, 4, 7, and 10 o'clock positions, leaving 2, 5, 8, and 11 o'clock for the humans. Each had a candle before them, those sitting at positions 1 through 10 had a lit candle. As they watched, the eleventh candle flared into life.

Giles pulled Xander back around the corner, cursing their luck. "Blast! We're too late. According to the book, once the eleventh candle has been lit outside influences cannot harm the casters." At Xander's raised brow, he elaborated. "It's in preparation for whatever they summon. As long as none voluntarily leave the circle, no harm can come to them. Even an Old One wouldn't be able to hurt them."

"So, if one of them leaves of their own accord, is that all? The ritual is stopped?"

Giles sighed. "Not quite. The power being raised needs someplace to go. If the circle remains open, then the spell's backlash could conceivably wipe out the entire western portion of the United States. We'd have to replace the segment in the energy flow with an opposing signature in order to contain the energies and dissipate them safely."

"How so?"

"If one of the humans left, then a vampire or demon would have to take it's place in the energy flow. The opposing gender as well as a mindset for wanting the ritual to fail would have to there as well. A demon would require an untainted human as a replacement and a vampire would require a living being. All that of course is dependent upon one of the beings voluntarily leaving the circle. They cannot be dragged out. And I just don't see how that's possible."

"If one does leave and an opposing energy force is put in it's place, is there anything else that needs to be done?"

Giles sighed, pacing back and forth, brow crinkled. "Well. Yes. One of the candles would have to be extinguished."

Xander clapped the older man on the shoulder, "Leave it to me. Be right back."

Stepping lightly, he headed towards the circle glancing at the seated figures mentally picking his target. He went unnoticed as he studied them. The chanting was rising in intensity and would soon end in a fevered pitch. He'd have to hurry.

Starting at the nine o'clock position he lightly brushed the shoulder of a female demon with light green pebbled skin and rows of soft spines along her cranium. "Duck."

Ten o'clock, a female vampire in a 50's style leather jacket, complete with pony tail and poodle skirt. "Duck."

Eleven o'clock, a female human with dark hair to her waist, wearing a plain black t-shirt and faded blue jeans. "Duck."

Sidling softly to the midnight position, Xander briefly studied the massive male Abrevin demon that sat there. His scales were such a dark green it was practically black and his cranium spines were rigid and razor sharp. Xander had to stretch to reach. The demon's inflection became harsher, but did not falter as Xander ghosted his hand over its shoulder. "Duck."

A male vampire sat in the one o'clock position wearing what looked like a Japanese kimono. "Duck."

The male human at two o'clock looked like a comb hadn't touched his head in years, and his clothing was filthy. Xander grimaced, "Duck."

At three o'clock, the female demon's coloring mirrored her counterpart across the circle. "Duck."

At four o'clock, Xander's grin widened. 'Tea time.' He grabbed a handful of an older female vampire's long blond hair and gave it a firm tug, shouting, "GOOSE!"

The lithe teen sidestepped as the female vampire shrieked in outrage, lashing out with her arm, fingers crooked into claws. "Nyah, Nyah! You can't catch me!" Xander stuck his tongue out at her and took off running. The vampire shot to her feet and began chasing after him. Xander practically skipped as he completed the circuit and plopped himself down in the empty spot. His grin threatened to split his face in two as he blew out the candle and looked up at the fuming female. "I win."

The chanting faltered and came to a stop as the flow of energy shifted. The other eleven beings' eyes flew open in confusion. A confusion that quickly turned to horror as they spotted the boy.

"Hi," he wiggled his fingers at the assembly. "Bye."

The power stretched, then snapped, a deep gong sounded, reverberating through their very bones. The four humans collapsed, falling onto their sides or backs as the energy invested was sapped away. Without a sound, the four vampires exploded into ash. The demons howled in agony, slowly fading as they returned to their home plane.

The last to disappear was the massive demon in the midnight position. It rose to it's full height unflinchingly. The male stared at the boy – rage and a grudging respect warring in glowing red eyes. "Well done," the voice was deep and oddly musical. "This will be remembered." As the last of the energy dissipated, the demon vanished.

Xander sat there a moment longer, staring wide-eyed at the spot where the demon had been. "Nope. My life's not complicated in the least."

"Xander?" Giles rushed to his young friend's side. "Are you alright?"

He was concerned when the teen nodded but leaned up against him, he could feel the boy shaking minutely. "Tired. Ready to go home. You?"

"Yes. Let's go home." He helped the boy to his feet and the two left the warehouse.

* * * 1626 words - MavenAlysse -finished July 20, 2010 * * *

[[As I was really enjoying the light-hearted tone of these game stories, I had originally planned to stop at "I win." But when dealing with the Hellmouth, sometimes unpredictable things occur. The demon just had to have his say. Who knows what will happen next. ::evil chuckle:: ]]


End file.
